'Brothock
Water'
David Carnegie
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FLOW on, little streamlet ! thou 'rt dearer to me
Than the proudest of rivers that roll to the sea ;
On thy braes, when a bairn, I aften hae played,
On thy banks, when a lover, I aften hae strayed.
llk spot I ken weel, frae the Mill to the Kirk ;
I hae roamed there in sunshine, at gloamin' an' mirk
;
In summer I've pu'd the wee gowans on thy braes,
And slid on thy dam i' the cauld wintry days.
When schule-time was ower, wi' a preen for a hook,
We wad rin up the Den to catch fish i' the brook,
An' turn the big stanes the sma' bandies to chase,
As they, thief-like, wad peep frae their sly hiding-place.
And there was the Hill, whaur we bairns did play,
But, alas ! like our playmates, it's weeded away,
An' nought noo remains o' the Hill once so green
But the red sandy hillock to mark where 't has been.
Although sadly changed, ilka spot's dear to me,—
They remind me o' joys I may never mair see ;
An' I hope yet to rest 'neath the green wavy sward,
Where loved ones are sleeping, in St. Vigeans Kirkyard.
Then flow on, sweet streamlet ! thou 'rt dearer to me
Than the proudest of rivers that roll to the sea ;
On thy blithe flowery braes in childhood I've played,
An' when death stills my heart, may I rest 'neath their
shade ! |
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DAVID
CARNEGIE, author of 'Lays and Lyrics from the Factory,'
was born in East Mill Wynd, Arbroath, on the 27th
October 1826.
He is by trade a handloom weaver, but since the introduction
of powerlooms into Arbroath, more than thirty years
ago, he has been employed as an operative amidst the
dust and din of a powerloom factory.
With the exception of about two years spent in England,
and a short period he served in the army, Mr. Carnegie's
whole life has been passed in his native town.
His 'Lays and Lyrics from the Factory' was first published
in 1861, and an enlarged edition, containing most
of his poems, appeared in 1879. It met with a favourable
reception.
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Commentary
extracted from 'Round about the Round O with its Poets',
1883. |
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